Florida's new python hunting queen makes history and catches 60 snakes

USA Today

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A Florida woman caught 60 snakes in the state's annual 10-day challenge to eliminate the invasive Burmese python species wreaking havoc with the Everglades ecosystem.
More than 900 people participated in the 2025 Python Challenge, a 10-day hunt in the steamy South Florida heat that this year made history on two fronts with the first woman to win the grand prize and the most total snakes caught since the competition began in 2013.
Taylor Stanberry, a 29-year-old Naples resident, was introduced as the 2025 Florida Python Challenge winner on Aug. 13. At 4-feet, 11-inches tall, Stanberry is taking home the grand prize of $10,000 for catching 60 snakes.
She is the first woman to win the grand prize in Florida's Python Challenge.
Overall, the catches were also monumental this year with 294 pythons captured – the most in the contest's history.
The contest brings together amateur and professional snake-catchers to hunt within certain zones of south Florida for the pythons, which threaten the state's ecology and are found in the Everglades, preying on birds, mammals and other reptiles. Challengers must capture and humanely kill the pythons and not harm any native species.
Stanberry eliminated 33 female pythons and 27 males. The longest snake she caught was just over 9 feet and weighed about 16 pounds.
"Every invasive python removed is a win," said Sarah Funk, nonnative fish and wildlife program coordinator with the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission.
At least one participant noted that the July dates for the hunt lined up with new hatchlings swarming the southern wetlands, which provided plenty of opportunities for hunters.
Donna Kalil, a contract hunter for the South Florida Water Management District, nabbed 56 snakes during the Python Challenge between July 11 and July 20. She brought in 19 during the 2024 contest when the event was held Aug. 9 through Aug. 18. The grand prize winner last year nabbed 20 snakes.
"It's all because of the timing," said Kalil, who won $2,500 this year for catching the most snakes in the professional category of the challenge. "There were a lot of little baby snakes just getting out of the nest. Some had already had a meal. They come out and are ready to eat."
Burmese python breed in the late winter to early spring with females laying clutches of eggs in March or April. The incubation period lasts between 60 to 90 days. Hatchlings can be up to two feet long, which is a lot of what Kalil said she caught. Her longest snake measured 5 feet, 5 inches. Last year she brought in a 12-footer.
"All I got was little guys," she said.
Stanberry, of Naples, is a contract hunter with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. She said she has been hunting pythons for 10 years but this was the first year she entered the challenge. Her Facebook profile says she is a digital creator with an exotic animal sanctuary.
"There are so many amazing female python hunters out there so I had some tough competition," Stanberry said after leaving the Aug. 13 FWC Commission meeting where the results were announced.
Stanberry said most of her catches were babies, but she did nab one that she said was between 9.5 and 10 feet long.
While this year's participation is higher than 2024, the number of hunters has fluctuated over the years from a high of nearly 1,600 in 2013 to just 600 during the early pandemic year of 2021.
Participants hunted in designated areas that stretch from western Palm Beach County to the Tamiami Trail in the Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area. Other management areas included in the Python Challenge are Holey Land, Rotenberger and Southern Glades.
This was also the first year that Everglades National Park allowed people to hunt in the park during the challenge.
What are the prizes for the Florida Python Challenge?
The $10,000 grand prize is awarded to the participant who removes the most snakes as part of the competition.
There are also three competition categories including professional, novice and military. Each category includes a $2,500 price for most pythons caught, $1,500 for the second-highest number of pythons caught and $1,000 for the longest python.
Participants may only win one prize, so if someone wins two, the person will be awarded the prize of the highest value and the next qualifying hunter will win the remaining prize.
Why hunt Burmese pythons?
Florida earnestly began hunting pythons in about 2012. It was the first year of the Python Challenge and the same year a study in Everglades National Park suggested pythons were responsible for a decline of 85% to 100% of the population of medium-sized furry animals, such as raccoons and rabbits.
The Burmese python invasion started with releases – intentional or not – that allowed them to gain a foothold in the park by the mid-1980s, according to the 2021 Florida Python Control plan.
By 2000, multiple generations of pythons were living in the park, which is noted in a more than 100-page 2023 report that summarized decades of python research.
How many pythons have been caught?
More than 15,800 snakes have been removed by hunters from the South Florida Water Management District and FWC since 2019.
The hunters were called the "most effective management strategy in the history of the issue" by district invasive animal biologist Mike Kirkland.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather, and the environment.